"The support of the Kingdom of Norway has opened up many new opportunities for us, improved the production process, facilitated it and reduced costs. So we got the opportunity to hire another employee," the Executive Director of "Herbs & Clay" Ana Milović Jasikovac explains
The passion for the cultivation of decorative and aromatic plants and pottery can grow into an occupation, and with the right support, it can enable good employment. With this idea, the small family company "Herbs & Clay" in Nikšić was founded by Ana Milović Jasikovac in early 2018. Her long-term love for pots, cups and other ceramic items is reflected in careful hand-making, either on a potter's wheel or special techniques of shaping clay by hand, by imprinting or engraving. And that was the main precondition for the business to start progressing.
"Our mission is to enrich living and working spaces and dining tables with colors and aromas, so people recognize that. We try to contribute to the offer of quality handmade items in Montenegro with souvenirs, while we grow cacti, succulents, spices and aromatic herbs from the plants," the Executive Director of "Herbs & Clay" Ana Milović Jasikovac explains.
Ana recognised an opportunity to improve her business, and applied through a public call for support to small businesses. To increase production and employment, with the support of the Kingdom of Norway through the project "Norway for you - Montenegro", her company received an additional potter's wheel, leveling table, rollers and clay extruder, as well as other necessary equipment to help them not to depend on the import of raw materials.
"The support of the Kingdom of Norway has opened up many new opportunities for us, improved the production process, facilitated it and reduced costs. So we got the opportunity to hire another employee. By purchasing machines, we got a chance to recycle clay during the production process, but also to reduce imports, and test local clays so that our product is completely domestic. Through the project, we have adapted the working space, in order to adapt it to our pottery course and enable it to be pleasant for visitors and clients," Ana Milović Jasikovac explains.
Herbs & Clay also received indirect support from the Kingdom of Norway, through a call for business support organizations.
"Thus, through the Association of Business Women of Montenegro, we received a marketing plan and a website with a web shop, so that we can sell online, because we have the ambition to attract clients from the region and Europe. Now we have the motivation to invest more in business, to research the market, to look for the best modalities of production and business. The support of the Kingdom of Norway has had an immeasurable impact on our company in terms of entrepreneurial skills such as marketing, communication, procurement, expansion of services and completion of the production chain," the Executive Director of "Herbs & Clay” concludes.